SI Maylands Peninsula – Bali Birthing Centre – October 2011

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Jane Prendergast (our immediate past president) and her husband visited the Bumi Sehat Birthing Centre in Bali last month. Jane took along items donated by members of our club including
cotton and muslin baby wraps, baby clothes and footwear, soft toys, toiletries, soothing creams, antiseptic & baby wipes, paw paw ointment and baby powder.

On arrival they met Liz who is from US and currently employed as a fundraiser, and Ayu Pancadewi, Administration Officer. Liz took us on a tour of the birthing centre (see attached). She explained that women come from all over to Bali to attend pre-natal and ante-natal clinics and to give birth at the centre. The women pay whatever they can but if they cannot pay anything at all they are not turned away.

Staff at the centre also support schools with education materials, provide sex education and HIV prevention strategies (which is not on the school curriculum) and computer training. They also fund midwifery scholarships and train women in outlying villages to assist women in delivering their babies if they cannot get to the birthing centre.

Packs are made up and given to the new mothers (who have very little money) when they leave the birthing centre; this is how most of the items we donated will be utilised.

The staff at Bumi Sehat were very grateful for our donations and would appreciate any future support we can provide.